NORWICH pulled off what is surely the shock result of the season so far as they sensationally overpowered Arsenal to secure their first Premier League win of the season.

It was the sweetest of victories for Canaries manager Chris Hughton as he finally shrugged off the shadow cast by former boss Paul Lambert.

But it was a miserable night for Arsene Wenger, whose below-par side simply didn’t perform. The defeat, Arsenal’s first at Carrow Road since 1984, will put a damper on Wenger’s 63rd birthday celebrations tomorrow.

Wenger also saw England winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain limp off with what looked like a hamstring strain nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Norwich, without a win in nine previous meetings with Arsenal, were roared home by a near-capacity crowd.

Wenger’s star-studded side looked sluggish from the start – having 14 players away on international duty takes its toll.

The big question, though, is whether the Canaries will survive a second season in the top flight

Norwich must surely have feared the worst after successive heavy defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Chelsea. But Arsenal’s low-key approach handed them the initiative and they took full advantage after 20 minutes.

Defensive midfielder Alex Tettey, born in Ghana but playing his international football with Norway, powered forward unopposed before letting fly from fully 25 yards.

Italian stopper Vito Mannone – the Gunners third-choice keeper playing because of injuries to Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski – couldn’t hold the ferociously struck shot and skipper Grant Holt muscled in ahead of Per Mertsacker to slide home his third goal in three games, from six yards.

Star chefs Delia Smith and Galton Blackiston and shadow Chancellor Ed Balls were among the celebrity Canary supporters on their feet celebrating in the directors’ box.

Holt was at it again just six minutes later, spinning past a flat-footed Mannone and cutting the ball back to Anthony Pilkington, who was crowded out by right-back Carl Jenkinson.

The much-vaunted Gunners back four were all at sea and former Sunderland centre-back Michael Turner should have rattled in a second Norwich goal before the break, instead heading Pilkington’s corner wide.

It was the same story in the second half, with Arsenal still struggling to get out of second gear. Olivier Giroud sliced wide and Spanish playmaker Santi Cazorla thumped a free-kick straight into John Ruddy’s tummy.

But there was no spark from midfield and little cutting edge in attack, prompting an increasingly frustrated Wenger to retreat to his seat in the dugout, scarcely able to believe what he was seeing.

There was good news for Norwich off the pitch as well, with the annual accounts revealing the club debt had dropped from £20million to around £11m, with chairman Alan Bowkett boasting another Premier League season would see them in the black.

The big question, though, is whether the Canaries will survive a second season in the top flight.